Any suggestions of best Bicycle for hills?

Don't your current bikes have several gear ratios? (often called 'speeds') You need something with a fairly low gear - a small front gear ring, and a big back sprocket. Three chain rings at the front - a triple - is significantly better for hill climbing than two. Beyond that, narrower high-pressure tires and less weight will make it easier. Try riding rolling hills more often to get used to them before you tackle the Sierras.

 

Sorry I don't have any suggestions other than a recombant bike, but....
is there not any bike paths within 15 miles or do they all lead downhill?

If I get a bike, seriously, I will get a very nice recombant bike, and I'm talking about the very nice ones, no cheap looking long chain looking things.
I sat in one once, it was chained to the store, but I just knew this was the bike for me.
(I guess the bikes I'm thinking of have either, 2 wheels in the front and one in the back or 1 wheel in the front and two in the back).

ZC1

 

^^^^Most recumbants are not the best choice for hills. I personally love road bikes, but for the average beginner, or returner to bike riding, this may fit the bill.
Trek Bikes | Bikes | Bike Path | 7000

Reasonably priced, can be had for $300, sturdy, and geared really low for climbing steep hills with old knees.

Of course, if you have more of a budget their are more choices, but this is a start.
Even a woman's version.
Trek Bikes | Bikes | Bike Path | 7000 WSD

 

Any bike with a decent low gear should do, a light bike would help. They also sell little electric motors you can install to aid the ascent up the hill.

 

Sadly, it's more about the engine than the bike. However, you can certainly get/build a bike that climbs well. Climbing is all about 2 things:

1. Power/weight ratio
2. Gearing

Obviously the best way to make climbing easier is to reduce the "weight" part of the Power/Weight ratio. If you do this while riding, you will also increase the "Power" side of the equation also!

I wouldn't worry too much about bike weight, as trimming that down can get very, very costly. In other words, it's a heck of a lot cheaper (and better for you!) to lose a bit of body fat than to upgrade components or to upgrade to a lighter bike.

In terms of gearing, you have many options. It really depends on what kind of bike you get. Most will have an option of 3 chain rings (triple chain ring vs. a double chain ring). Generally speaking, this (triple) is the way to go for lower gearing. However, if you want a road bike (vs a hybrid/mtb), you can also get what's called a "compact crank". This crank is a double (2 chain rings), but the gearing is much lower than a traditional double chain ring set-up. This options gives you the simplicity/efficiency/lower weight of a double, with the low gearing of a triple.

Sheldon Brown (RIP) has a excellent tool that shows you the affect of changing gearing:

Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator

There is also a section on basic cycling information (well worth a read) here:

Harris Cyclery Articles For Beginning Cyclists

Finally, in terms of what bike to get, please go to your local bike shop. You can buy one from Wally World, but it will not last and give you problems for the life of the bike. A good bike shop will offer a bunch of brands/models, and should even allow you to test ride them.

If you give me an idea in terms of your price range, and the type of riding (rails-trails, road, mountain, commuting, touring, mix, etc) you are planning, I will shoot you some recomendations in terms of brands/models.

Good luck!

... Brad

 

Recumbent bikes are not good on hills. We have both, and I love our recumbent, but it is much harder to hill climb with a recumbent. You can't stand up and use your body weight, so it becomes an exercise of thigh muscles. It's easy to blow out a knee if you press too hard.

I recommend a road bike if the roads are good, or a mountain bike if the roads are rougher. Either way, the key is to get the proper gear ratio. The gear clusters can be changed on any bicycle. If you find yourself running out of low gears on the uphills, take your bike to a good shop and have them swap out the gears.

It's also possible, if you want to spend some money, to add a little electric kicker motor to a recumbent bicycle. Use the motor when you come to really big hills.

Tom

 

FTFY Tom. They are a scream on downhills!

... Brad

 

I see you are around the Sierra mountains from your profile. Definitely get a bike with a front triple chain ring, so you will have some really low hill-climbing gears. Edit: Sure you can also find a double front chain ring, if the gearing is low enough.

I have 3 bikes: Trek hardtail (no shocks) mountain bike, an old but good Bridgestone RB-1 lightweight steel road bike, and a Fuji aluminum road bike. The MTB is good for uphills in that it has low gears, but it is much slower overall because it is heavy (28 lbs or more). I put thinner road tires on the Trek for road rides, but it is still slow. The Bridgestone is 23 lbs and much better, but has only two front chain rings, so I have some trouble with steep hills.

The Fuji Roubaix is pretty fancy and only 19lbs, and it has a triple (front chainrings). I can go up anything on it, but I am not much faster overall on it than on my steel road bike.

I suggest you test ride some bikes at a local shop, and see what is comfortable and good on hills for you. Buy from a bike store, not a big-box store, if you want a bike that will last for over 1000 miles. Buy bikes that fit you well!

-Ken

 

1. Lower the weight of the engine
2. Increase the output of the engine
3. Use small gear on front, big gear on back.

Three steps to hill-climbing nirvana. I only have a compact double on my bike, and I climb our local "wall" that is five miles of climb ending in a 25% grade near the top. It is the steepest paved portion of public road that anybody has heard about around here. Certainly there are fewer roads steeper.

This is the profile of that particular ride:


I also ride around Mt. Shasta. I know what hills are!

 

I just got a near new Lemond Tourmalet 2007 on ebay for $710(s&h). It's got shimano 105s. My sister said it was a good get. Any thoughts?

 

That's for sure. We have a Double Vision recumbent tandem. On one local hill we hit 48 mph coasting! I would have gone faster, but we were out of gears, which is why we were coasting.

Tom

 

I've been riding for years, but my wife only off and on a bit. She's mainly been a runner, but recently started getting into triathalons. She had a Mtn Bike, so this weekend we traded it in on a sweet Trek Series 1.2WSD road bike. It's light, quick and climbs the hills noticeably better than even my 8 yr. old Trek. Plus, it's a beautiful bike with white/blue frame, white seat and handlebars. MSRP $769, we got it for $669minus another hundred for the trade. Trek is also offering 6 month same as case for $500 and up or 12 month for purchases over $1000.

 

You may want to consider rewording that a bit.

... Brad

 

Or trying for more quality time.

Tom

 

Recumbents are WONDERFUL ! I have an ATP Vision R40 with under-seat steering and I love how you can watch the scenery without craning your neck.

But yes, recumbents are bad for hills. You can't stand up and use your weight to pedal.

I think I'm going to add an electric motor to solve the hill problem (and make a cheap EV)...

 

They are also very heavy and extremely difficult to fit onto most car carriers.

 

No, but you can push against the seat for some extra oomph. I've found with similar loads and sufficient training, there's no big disadvantage to recumbents on hills. You may be getting passed by wannabe racers on 20 pound diamond frames, but that's not necessarily your bike's fault.

 

I push on the seat too, but that's where you have to be careful with your knees. I do disagree with your assessment about disadvantage on hills. Certainly with sufficient training you can climb hills on a recumbent, we do it all the time, but with the same amount of training on a wedgie you can climb even bigger hills. Recumbent bicycles have a built-in disadvantage in that area.

Tom